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Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda feels fans targeted Emily Armstrong as the band's new singer because ‘she wasn’t a guy'
Mike Shinoda believes that the backlash surrounding Emily Armstrong’s addition to Linkin Park had less to do with her talent and more to do with gender.
American nu-metal band Linkin Park's latest chapter has stirred passionate reactions, but the band is standing firm. After years of silence following Chester Bennington’s death in 2017, the group returned last year with a bold move—welcoming Emily Armstrong as their new vocalist and teasing a forthcoming album. While the announcement sparked excitement among many fans, it also triggered backlash—much of it directed at Emily.
Mike Shinoda recently addressed the controversy in an interview with The Guardian. "There were people who lashed out at Emily, and it was really because she wasn’t a guy," he said. Mike noted that fans were "used to Linkin Park being six guys" with "the voice of a guy leading this song." He added, "They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about. They’re pointing in 10 different directions saying: ‘This is why I’m mad, this is why the band sucks.'"
The response to Emily wasn’t uniform, as per Mike. Some fans embraced her, but criticism came from others—including Chester’s mother, who reportedly felt "betrayed" by the band’s decision to carry on without her input, and Chester’s son, who pointed to Emily’s ties with Scientology.
Reflecting on the backlash, Emily admitted, "I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest," and shared that she avoided social media even before joining the band "for mental-health purposes." Now, she says, "If there was something really, really pressing, I think our PR would talk to us about it. But I’m old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet."
As Linkin Park tours globally in support of their 2024 release From Zero, Mike explained how they’ve curated the show to reflect positivity. "I want you walking away feeling like, 'This was such a wonderful, special, fun night.'" One emotional track, however, didn’t make the cut. "That’s just too sad to play," he said while talking about the single One More Light.
